Improvement in seed-drills



y noaa esta @sind Ultima.

HUGH SHEPHERD, or LEEs SUMMI'I, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR 'ro HIMSELF AND GEORGE W SCOTT, OF SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 90,200, dated May 18, 1869.

.IMPRovEMENT 1N Senn-nantis.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it 'known that I, HUGH SHEPHERD, of Lees Summit, in the county of Jackson, and State of Missouri, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Seed-Drills; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and clear description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and td the letters 0f reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to the formation and constructionof the flukes, or drill-teeth of the seed-plauting machine ordinarily called seed-drill, and said inveutiou relates, also, to an adaptation of a coveringroller to said dukes; and

The object of said improvement is to insure the proper deposit of seed under the surface of the ground, in such wise that frost and other causes may not affect the same, to destroy vegetation.

To enable those skilled herein to make and use my said invention, I will more fully describe the same, referring herein to the accom panyiug drawings, of which Y Figure l is a general side elevation; and Figure 2 is a top plan; and

'Figure 3 is anelevatiou, showingr the drill-fluke in front view.

I use the ordinary form of frame, supported upon' wheels, and attach to said frame the drill-dukes A, generally in the usual manner.

Said dukes are formed of the hollow shank A', which has, in general, the usual construction. In order, however, to insure that the point of the. duke shall properly enter the ground, and thus permit the seed to bury itself to a sulicient depth, and especially to enable the said fluke to enter weedy or trashy soil, which, iu the ordinary form of fluke-point, clogs the nose of the fluke, and prevents it from entering the soil, and generally to' form a more perfect fluke, I arrange the cutter A'L on the forward edge thereof, having its sharp edge at a, so that it may'operate to cut or open the iiuke-furrmv.

In order that the fluke thus formed may be well supported, I arrange the upper end of lthe cutter A, to attach to the drag-bar B, by a bolt, b. To allpw for adjustment, there will be twoormore holes, b', through which, by said bolt b, the attachment may be made.

As it frequently happens 'that the seed, in dropping from the drill,falls into au open and non-closing furrow, and thus remains-exposed, and is wasted, I lhave arranged, in connection with said duke A, the covering-rollerV C. Said roller has its circumference slightly curved, to form a. concave surface, as indicated in ng. 2. Said roller is arranged to follow the tin-keA, and to cover the furrow, but its attachment is such that it may readily rise up and roll over inequalities of sur' face, at the same time that a portion of its weight acts to keep the uke A properly gauged to the required depth in the furrow.'

v For said purposes, the attachment of said roller is in the manner following:

Aframe, D, composed of two, usually wooden bars, is supported by the bolts d, ou the rear edge of the fluke A, said fluke having a rib, A3, to furnish said support. In order to adj ust this attachment as to height, there will be two or lnore holes, d', through which the bolt d may he put, holding said bar. D.

The roller G rests by its journal c in said frame D. At the rear end of said frame I arrange atransverse plate, D', usually of iron, which serves, not only to connect the opposite bars of the frame, but also acts as a scraper, to cleanse the roller of adhering soil.

To further support and guide the frame D and roller C, I arrange the braces E, attaching, by lthe bolt e, in one of several holes, e, in said rib A", of the duke A.

-The braces E have the slot e, through which the journal c, of the roller C, passes. The slot e2, therefore, permits the roller O to rise up, thereby lifting upthe frame D, and pass over obstructions, while always in actionupon the soil, to cover the furrow.

By adjusting the braces E and frame D, to attach to higher or lower points 'of the rib AS, of the'uke, it

is apparent that more or less of the weight ofthe covering-roller C may be hung upon the tluke. In this wise, the depth to which the fluke will enter the ground may be gauged, while, by adjusting the angle ofthe drag-bar, the said depthcan also be gauged in the ordinary manner, and thus the said devices may be effectually adapted to any special nature of'soil.

And it is furthermore apparent, that owing to the additional effect produced by the roller-attachment, the gauge of tbe tlukes may, in my said improvement, be more perfectly regulated than in ordinary drills.

Having thus'fully described my invention,

l. The arrangement of the drill-tooth A, its cutter A2, with the drag-bar B, by the bolt b and holes b', substantially as set forth.

2. The braces D and E, arranged adjust-ably by the bolts d and e, and holes d' and e, respectively to support and guide the roller C, in connection with the tooth A, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand,

in the presence ofv HUGH SHEPHERD.

Witnesses:

Geenen P. HnRTHnL, Jr., WM. W. Huu'rHnL. 

